World

BAGHDAD, Nov 3 (Reuters) Ahmed Chalabi, the smooth-talking Iraqi politician who played a role in persuading the United States to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003, died on Tuesday of a heart attack, state television and two parliamentarians said. Haitham Al Jabouri, secretary of parliament’s financial panel, which Chalabi had chaired, said attendants had found him dead in his

By Peter Marino Nov 2 (Reuters) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan appears to have beaten down his opponents and returned his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to a fourth term of single-party rule over the country. In doing so, he has cemented his own already-firm control over the country, and is a large step

Nov 3 (Reuters) Americans are becoming less religious, judging by such markers as church attendance, prayer and belief in God, and the trend is more pronounced among young adults, according to a poll released on Tuesday. The share of U.S. adults who say they believe in God, while still high compared with other advanced industrial

CAIRO, Nov 2 (Reuters) Iraq’s parliament voted on Monday to bar the government from passing key reforms without its approval in an effort to restrict Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi, parliamentarians said. The chamber took the step after Abadi unilaterally passed reforms in August it considered a violation of the constitution such as sacking the vice presidents and deputy

ISTANBUL, Nov 2 (Reuters) Turkey’s largest business group Tusiad said on Monday the ruling AK Party should quickly implement political reforms after it won a strong parliamentary majority in an election on Sunday. The government should also strengthen the European Union accession process, expand freedoms and democracy and end social polarization, Tusiad said in an

BEIJING, Nov 2 (Reuters) China must continue to enforce its one-child policy until new rules allowing all couples to have two children go into effect, the top family planning body said. The ruling Communist Party said last week that Beijing would loosen its decades-old one-child policy. But the plan for the change must be approved

CAIRO/MOSCOW Nov 2 (Reuters) A Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula broke up in mid-air, an official of a Moscow-based aviation agency said on Sunday after visiting the disaster site, but stressed it was too early to draw conclusions from this. Russian authorities also ordered Kogalymavia airline, operator of the Airbus A321 which

BEIRUT (Reuters) Daesh fighters drove Syrian government forces from a town in the west of the country on Sunday, as fighting looked set to intensify despite a flurry of international diplomacy and talks between regional rivals. The jihadists’ advance came even as Russian warplanes and Syrian forces supported by them stepped up assaults against insurgents

BAKU, Nov 1 (Reuters) Azeri voters headed to the polls on Sunday for a parliamentary election, which Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s ruling party is widely expected to win, and which mainstream opposition and international monitors are shunning. Aliyev has consolidated his power since succeeding his father and long-serving leader Heydar in 2003, presiding over a

MOGADISHU, Nov 1 (Reuters) Two bombs ripped into a hotel in the Somali capital on Sunday and security forces fought Islamist Al Shabaab gunmen, who stormed the building for hours afterwards, police and witnesses said. At least 11 people were killed. Al Shabaab, which has frequently launched attacks in Mogadishu in its bid to topple